Store: An Independent Institute Book
THAT EVERY MAN BE ARMED
The Evolution of a Constitutional Right
By
Stephen P. Halbrook
Few issues ignite such impassioned debate as the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Does it really give citizens the right to possess firearms, or is that right restricted to a “well-regulated militia” such as the National Guard?
Halbrook traces the origins of the Second Amendment back to ancient Greece and Rome, and then through the “freemen” movement in 18th century England and France. He demonstrates that the framers of the U.S. Constitution were conscious of such history when they drafted the Second Amendment, and that the Second Amendment was clearly intended to allow possession of firearms not just for the defense of personal life and property, but also to prevent government infringement of human liberties.
Halbrook has successfully argued against gun restrictions in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, such as portions of the “Brady Bill” that required local police to enforce certain federal gun laws. He brings the same meticulous, thorough scholarship to this book. He demonstrates that the right to bear arms is as fundamental a right under the U.S. Constitution as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Detailed Summary |
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Table of Contents
Overview: Firearms Prohibitions and Constitutional Rights
Chapter 1: The Elementary Books of Public Right
Chapter 2: The Common Law of England
Chapter 3: The American Revolution and the Second Amendment
Chapter 4: Antebellum Interpretations
Chapter 5: Freedom, Firearms, and the Fourteenth Amendment
Chapter 6: The Supreme Court Speaks
Chapter 7: State and Federal Judicial Opinions
Afterword: Public Policy and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Praise for That Every Man Be Armed “If the Second Amendment is read to confer a personal right to ‘keep and bear arms,’ a colorable argument exists that the Federal Government’s regulatory scheme, at least as it pertains to the purely intrastate sale or possession of firearms, runs afoul of that Amendment’s protections. . . . Marshalling an impressive array of historical evidence, a growing body of scholarly commentary indicates that the ‘right to keep and bear arms’ is, as the Amendment’s text suggests, a personal right. See, e.g., S. Halbrook, That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right.”
—CLARENCE THOMAS, Associate Justice, U. S. Supreme Court, in Printz v. United States
“That Every Man Be Armed provides indefatigable research into the Second Amendment, and all serious scholars will eternally be in its debt.”
—SANFORD V. LEVINSON, Professor of Law, University of Texas
“That Every Man Be Armed is extremely well-documented and is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in understanding the constitutional and other issues involved in the great American gun control debate.”
—QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF IDEOLOGY
“Halbrook’s pathbreaking book has inaugerated modern Second Amendment scholarship, and no research can overlook That Every Man Be Armed.”
—DANIEL D. POLSBY, Professor of Law, Geoge Mason University
“That Every Man Be Armed is authoritative.”
—REVIEWS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
“That Every Man Be Armed is the definitive book on the historical and legal development of the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms.”
—ORRIN HATCH, U. S. Senator
“That Every Man Be Armed is a thorough study of the volatile issues of gun registration and gun control and their relation to the Second Amendment.”
—NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW
“That Every Man Be Armed is highly recommended.”
—CHOICE
“That Every Man Be Armed challenges the constitutional interpretation of gun prohibitionists. Halbrook’s evidence cannot be ignored, nor can his arguments be dismissed. Those who choose to go on believing prohibitionist pronouncements about the meaning of the Second Amendment will have to do so in spite of the facts.”
—CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY
“I am indeed fascinated by this very vital issue of the right to keep and bear arms. . . . I am sure that my colleagues in the Senate will be equally as interested in That Every Man Be Armed.”
—DENNIS DECONCINI, former U.S. Senator
“Relying on his background as a political philosopher and lawyer, Halbrook’s meticulous research in That Every Man Be Armed has produced the encyclopedic book on the Second Amendment from its background in ancient Greece through the English common law to its inactment in l8th century America and all subsequent legal interpretations. It is must reading for all those interested in the right to possess and acquire firearms.”
—DON B. KATES, Jr., civil rights and constitutional attorney; editor, Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out
“That Every Man Be Armed is the first scholarly treatise that is both comprehensive and in-depth. . . . The book is suitable for a very wide audience.”
—JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY
“The need for careful, impartial information makes Stephen Halbrook’s book especially welcome. . . . That Every Man Be Armed is comprehensive and well-written.”
—GEORGE WASHINGTON LAW REVIEW About the Author Stephen P. Halbrook is a Research Fellow at The Independent Institute. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his Ph.D. in Social Philosophy from Florida State University. He has taught philosophy and law at Tuskegee Institute, Georgetown University, Howard University, and George Mason University. He has won three cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including one (Printz v. United States) that overturned portions of the “Brady Bill” requiring local police to enforce federal gun control regulations.
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